The Paddy Marketing Board has bought 45,362 metric tonnes of paddy under the government’s Yala season purchasing programme, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said on Tuesday.
The figure takes state procurement past the target the government set for itself when the drive opened. Jayatissa said in July that the programme aimed to buy 39,500 tonnes in total, with purchases capped at 2,500 kilograms per farmer. Tuesday’s total exceeds that by 5,862 tonnes, or about 15%.
A drive that accelerated sharply in August
Procurement started slowly and then climbed steeply:
| Date | Tonnes bought |
|---|---|
| July 13 (opening day) | 25 |
| July 19 | 305 |
| July 24 | 5,390 |
| July 28 | 7,267 |
| August 4 | ~15,000 |
| August 11 | 27,458 |
| August 25 | 45,362 |
Purchases have therefore roughly doubled again since early August, when the board was operating 90 stores concentrated in the dry-zone districts of Ampara, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Polonnaruwa, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi.
When the government was still about 12,000 tonnes short of the target in mid-August, Jayatissa said further purchasing was planned once the target was met. Tuesday’s figure indicates that buying has continued past the threshold rather than stopping at it.
Why the state is buying at all
The Paddy Marketing Board buys at a guaranteed price to put a floor under farmgate rates during the harvest peak, when supply surges and private buyers can push prices down. Agriculture Minister K.D. Lalkantha has acknowledged limits to what the Rs. 120 guaranteed price can achieve.
The state is not carrying the whole load. The government is also releasing interest-free loans of up to Rs. 25 million to rice millers this week, disbursed through District Secretaries, to keep private purchasing moving alongside the board’s own buying.
Ada Derana did not report whether 45,362 tonnes is the final Yala figure, how many collection centres remain open, or what the board now holds in storage.
